Diaper bank aids those hit hardest by the pandemic

In 2009, Oakland-resident Lisa Truong heard about parents across California in need of diapers and she wanted to help. Through a grassroots outreach effort with fellow new-mom Rachel Fudge, the two women managed to collect 15,000 diapers. After donating their contributions, Truong and Fudge didn’t have any more plans for further diaper drives or outreach until they discovered an alarming statistic. 

“We found out that diapers were not covered under other public assistance programs, like food stamps ( or Women, Infants and Children),” Truong said. “First it just shocked us that, hey this is a forgotten basic human need. Then we just got really mad.”